Justice News

Miami-Dade County Resident Convicted of Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

A Miami-Dade County resident was convicted at trial yesterday of distributing and possessing child pornography.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Anthony Daron Johnson, 43, of Miami-Dade, was convicted by United States District Judge Ursula Ungaro of distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1), and possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2). Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between May 23, 2012 and September 21, 2014, Johnson used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download hundreds of child pornography files, including videos and still images. On June 8, 2014, law enforcement downloaded one complete file and one partial file from Johnson, both of which contained images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On November 20, 2014, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Johnson’s residence and recovered a computer containing two hundred still images and three videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rothstein and Jonathan Kobrinski.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.